Things Ever Shifting
by Flight-of-Hawks
Summary: Another Gravity Falls fic I did a little while back, this time involving my Starla oc's, James and Jessie Pines, who are Stan and Carla's twin son and daughter. The oc, Adeline Marks mentioned belongs to hntrgurl13 on tumblr, check out her art and more.
1. The Discovery

It had been a few days since coming to Gravity Falls, James, and his twin sister Jessie, were eager to get out of their uncle's eerie home to go play out in the lightly falling snow, while both their parents, Carla and Stanley Pines, were trying to figure things out. The kids could see that their father was still distraught and restless, blaming himself that his twin brother has been lost on the other side of the portal, leading to who knows where, not knowing he could be dead or still alive. Stan had to try to bring him home. Carla was doing her best to do whatever she could to comfort her husband, whether it be getting him tools, food, or to treat his burn. Seeing the many odd things their uncle Stanford collected did peak James' interest in what he was doing, but he has noticed Jessie growing ever more uncomfortable from even glancing at the strange things, like the eye-bats in a jar she saw on day one.

James slowly walked up to his mother, asking, "Mom, can Jess and I go outside and play?"

Carla showed a tired smile as she was fixing a meal, then frowning when Stan went down into the basement again. She focused back on her son, "Of-Of course, just be sure to stay close to the house and don't wander too far into the woods. And when the snow starts to fall harder, come right back to the house and I'll make you both some hot chocolate."

James smiles a little to Jessie, who too smiled when given 'the okay', while looking forward to the treat. The children put on their winter attire and ran outside onto the snow-covered yard. The two played and laughed as if all that occurred in the last few days never happened, wanting to forget at least for an hour or two. The kids knew to stay clear of the bottomless pit while they went to enjoy themselves.

The two threw snowballs at each other, Jessie running about in her boots until she collided against a large tree with a thud.

"Oomph!" The ten-year old got up to rub her head, "That hurt..."

"You gonna be okay there, sis?" James haste himself towards her.

Jessie gave an assuring grin, "Ah yeah, no tree can stop me!" She gave the tree a good kick, but as she did, James heard a clang sound, as if it were made of metal and not wood. James knocked on the surface of the tree several times, the whole tree to be made of a metal of sorts. He got caught off guard when a small square door opened to reveal an electrical panel with switches and buttons within the small chamber.

"That's odd..." James muttered aloud, curiosity compelling him to touch the different switches and buttons, appearing to do nothing until he heard something.

Jessie wasn't paying attention to whatever her brother was doing and instead went to making a snow angel. Suddenly, she felt something under her back, leaping up to her feet, "Holy smokes!" Another small metal door opened, revealing to what looks to be a book. " James, James come over here! I found something!" She goes to tug her brother's jacket sleeve, leading him to the very spot. The boy knelt down to pick up the leather-bound book, bearing a familiar symbol of a six-fingered hand, but this one has the number three written on the hand. James eyes widened, knowing it was one of the Journals his dad mentioned before. He placed his own six-fingered hand on the symbol, wishing he could have known his uncle better.

"It's one of uncle's Journals..." He opens the journal, flipping through the pages as a grin formed on his face. The things he could learn from with the journal. "I wonder what other secrets that tree has." As much as he wants to read every page in order, James holds off the idea and skims through the journal to find the page related to the tree. "Far out.."

"Dad is gonna so be happy we found one of those books he was looking for!" Jessie giggles in glee, wanting to see her father smile again. Things have been so depressing since coming to Gravity Falls she wants to break out of. She peaks at the page beside James to read. He moves the Journal for her to look at with him.

"So apparently, our uncle and his assistants were researching the creatures they found here in Gravity Falls. This tree we stand in front of is the entrance to their bunker." He gives Jessie an excited expression, although Jessie wasn't too eager with the idea he's running in his head.

"I don't like where you're going with this. Our uncle was freaking crazy from what I'm getting from all this. And I bet he has all sorts of weirder things than what's in the house." Jessie cringes at the thought. Of course she's accepting of her twin brothers ability of seeing ghosts and six-fingered hand, but that was about as much as she can take.

James points up at the tree to the crooked tree branch, "That branch up there is the lever to get inside." He looks to Jessie, "Jessie you like climbing. Can you get up there and move the branch up?"

The young girl shakes her head in refusal, crossing her arms, "Nah uh! If I'm gonna climb all the way up there, to go to a place unknown, then you can count me out!"

James shows a mischievous smile, knowing the right bribes he could use to coax his sister, "I'll let you have my hot chocolate to go up there if you do. I sweeten the deal by doing your chores for a week. What do you say, Jess?"

Jessie ponders the deal, rubbing her chin, then sighs, "If ya add in getting a portion of your allowance then it's a deal."

James pouts, but gives in, "Deal, sis... I'll make a large pile of snow for you to fall onto if you slip." Keeping his word, he kneels to push up the snow around them, hoping it'll be enough to break her fall, thinking of her safety.

Jessie rubs her hands together, concealed by the mittens she's wearing. She gets her belt to help her climb up the cold, metal tree. Holding onto the both ends with each hand, she moves the belt up, then taking a step up herself and repeats. Jessie acts fast before she starts to freeze, the exertion from the climb giving a bit of warmth. Seeing the tree branch now, she holds onto the belt ends with one hand while she punches the branch to move upwards. James was reading the Journal's contents some as she did so. She succeeds as the whole tree descends to reveal the entrance to the bunker. Catching her off guard, she falls down the tree, being caught by the pile of snow below with a light thud. When the tree lowers to a stop, wooden steps activated outwards to create what resembles a staircase.

"Far out..." James whispered with a childish smile as he bounced in place.

Jessie climbs out from the pile of snow, laughing, "That was fun! I wanna do it again!"

James smiles at his sister, seeing she found some joy to it, "Thanks a bunch, sis. You did great!"

"Damn right I am, brother!" She grins a bit, then looks unsure about the where the steps may lead, "Are you sure you wanna go down there?" She didn't need an answer to know the obvious from the way he glances down the steps, "Fine.. but I'm coming with you in case something happens." She secretly hopes that her brother won't end up as crazy as their uncle was, as it seemed like to her.

The two children descend the steps and into the bunker below. James curses the fact that he neglected to bring a flashlight with them, getting darker as they tread. James felt the wooden door before them, navigating his hand to find the handle, opening it to reveal the first room.

"Whoa..." James and Jessie browse around the room, finding a bed, well-stocked food and water supplies with year dates on each box, and Jessie found a Smez dispenser on the floor near the cabinet of weapons.

"Candy!" She cheered, opening the yellow dog-faced candy holder to eat a piece of the candy, not knowing how long it has been since it was left alone, "Mmm... still kinda good. Wonder if there's more..." The little girl tucks the Smez in one of her pockets as she searches for any candy stashes among the boxes of food goods.

Using the light they turned on inside the room, James reads the page about the four rooms of the bunker.

"This is the fallout shelter. They built this in case a disaster were to happen. The lab is somewhere on the other side.." He feels the wall at the very end of the room, feeling for anything that could give them a clue to continue forward. He took notice of the various weapons displayed in the storage, he remembers their father telling them he has no problem with them using dangerous weapons to defend themselves, "Say Jess, can you grab two of those knives? We may need them just in case."

Jessie pokes at the hilt of one of the knives in the weapon display, sticking them in her other side pocket, chewing on a candy bar, "I found some candy bars in here!" James simply smiles at her when she waves a nougat bar, getting back to finding another secret his uncle concealed until, he pushes the poster, it moving inward. He removes the poster to find a small hallway.

"Hey Jess, I found something!" James calls to her, Jessie coming over to see what he found.

"It leads to another part of this place?"

James reads the Journal to get a better idea what they'll be dealing with. He gulps at the page that filled his head with second thoughts, "The next room is the security room... to get rid of intruders. We have to be really careful when we go inside."

Jessie had her wits about her, not wanting to get possibly killed, "I think we should go back now."

James holds her hand, "We won't die so long as we are both careful and not trigger the trap inside." He starts leading her with him, now putting his sister on high alert.

"Wait what?"

Now they were both inside the chamber, the floor and walls each having a symbol on the tiles. He reads the page closely, "Okay... so long as we don't step on the tile at the very middle, we should be-" His eyes widened with shock, Jessie having step on the very tile that triggered the trap. The two had to act fast before the room crushes them both. James immediately starts hyperventilating; his phobia of close spaces kicking in as Jessie starts screaming bloody murder in a high pitch.

"We're gonna die!" The girl exclaims in fear, running around in panic. As she did, one of the tiles emitted a blue hue after being stepped on. James saw this and gets a better idea of what to do, but they had to act immediately.

"Try to touch all the tiles to open the door to the other side! There's some sort of code!" He frantically does this as his sister did the same as the room tiles extend even faster. He didn't want to die too soon, nor did he want to get his sister killed.

Both children manage to find the right code, the door to the other room opening as they both make a run for it, just in time before the chamber became their bloody tomb. The children catch their breathes. Jessie couldn't help but to let out a laugh, being very thankful they made it out alive, giving her a thrilling feeling.

However, James was in a middle of a panic attack that left him in a fetal position and shaking in place, to which Jessie acted quickly to calm him down, "Shh... It's okay, James. You saved me, and we're safe now. Do you need anything?"

James slowly nods, feeling a bit more calm, "Do you have one of those candy bars on you? I could use one right now..." He eyes at her parka, having saw her stuff a good few before heading into the death-trap.

Jessie perks a smile, handing him a chocolate bar, "Sure do, brother! You earned it." She unwraps the candy as she handed it to him. The boy chews slowly, beginning to feel more at ease from the experience. "Too bad we don't have milk on us."

James nods in agreeing with her, "Chocolate tastes better to me with it, and it helps wash it down." As soon as James became himself, for the most part, him and his sister just now notice the kind of room they're in. It was a control room of sorts, the room lit a glow, the electricity still intact and keeping the machines and other gizmos they saw operating. James goes back to the page he marked with the monocle, reading about the creature observation deck, "This is where uncle and his two assistants watched the creatures they would catch in safety, putting them in these large cryogenic holding tubes. The person uncle mentions was the one who built that trap.." He felt a similar feeling his uncle did with not wanting to be F's enemy. The two took of their winter gear, finding it warm in the observation deck, setting the coats, hats, and gloves on a third rolling chair.

Jessie looks around the room, riding on the chair with wheels, looking through the filing cabinets to read for instructions on using the controls, "Hmm... I don't really understand all this. Dad was right about uncle being hella smart, too smart for his own good, I say... His assistants must have been just as crazy." She assumes with a hint of bitterness. The more she learns about her uncle, the more she grew to dislike him.

"Maybe so..." He mutters under his breath. The two read the papers, learning what buttons to press, including the one to reset and deactivate the security room for when they exit. He turns on cameras to the laboratory as well as the lights where it revealed all. His uncle's art work compared to the real thing was uncanny, exact images compared to the real thing. James was left in awe, feeling like he's in one of those science fiction movie's he watched.

Suddenly, James and Jessie jumped when they saw something dart across the lab, a single empty can rolled about.

"Holy Smokes!" Jessie shrieked, now becoming scared of what lurks inside the lab. She takes out one of the combat knives from her pocket, preparing to defend herself and her brother from whatever was in that lab.

James felt drawn to know what kind of creature it could be, half-listening to his sister. His eyes dart to one screen after another, trying to find the mysterious creature. Getting up from the second chair, he goes to the door to the small decontamination room. "I wanna know what's in there and see if it's-"

Jessie blocked his way with her arms crossed, staring him down, "No way I'm letting you out of my sight and get eaten! Who knows what's in there.."

James gets out the journal again, turning to the next page after the ones about the bunker, seeing an image of a creature that shed more light on what's in the lab, "I think I know now. I don't think it'll want to eat us. Look." He shows the page that details a creature by the name of Shifty, a small, white amorphous shape-shifting creature of whom their uncle and someone going by A, grew fond of, having found him as an egg, even to the extent of calling the creature their son. There was even a sketch of a long hair woman holding Shifty in her arms, looking happy. Upon being struck by this insight, Jessie steps aside.

"He's been in there... all alone." The passionate ten-year old begins to rethink some things about her uncle, but still disliking him over recent events. "We should at least check on the little guy." She does find the creature illustrated to be unsettling. James nods, being thankful she can see reason when given enough proof. She opens the door where both go inside, activating the function of the decontaminating room, showering them in water, then drying them. It was an odd experience, but a lot better than the part where they were almost killed.

The two enter inside the lad, the cryogenic holding tubes had no monsters from what they're seeing.

"Shifty! Please come out! We're not going to hurt you! Just want to talk and stuff." James calls for the sapient being.

Seeing as they were young children such as himself, Shifty slowly steps out of the shadows to show himself, letting out a shy, "H-Hi..." waving his small noodle hand. Jessie felt the need to take a step back, feeling intimidated by his appearance in person.

James shows a small, nervous smile to Shifty, "I'm James Pines, and this is my little twin sister, Jessie. How are you?" He makes an attempt to start a conversation, though feeling awkward about it at that moment.

Shifty was looking rather depressed, tilting his head some when he heard 'Pines', wanting to know how they came here and why, "I'm not doing too well... How did you find this place? And how do you know my name?" James shows him the third journal in his hands, Shifty's beady red eyes widened, "Where did you get that? Daddy wouldn't part with it... What happened to him!?" James and Jessie step back from the outburst, seeing how Shifty was becoming more upset than he was, the boy tries to calm him down and explain, the creature growled.

"We can tell you if you listen.." James gives him a sympathetic expression. Shifty eyes were now streaming tears. "Your dad is our uncle Stanford, our own dad's twin brother. When your dad sent that postcard to him, I along with my sister and mom went with him to drive all the way to Oregon to see what we can do." James shuffled his feet in place, doing his best to explain the whole mess, "We all got there and dad went to see him alone while we waited in the car. From what our dad told us, him and uncle had a fight."

"Both verbal and brawling." Jessie added.

Shifty was listening, not liking where the story is going. James nods to Jessie with a frown, "Yeah and... dad activated the portal on accident while they fought and uncle Ford got sucked into the portal to who knows where. Dad is doing his best to get it active again to bring uncle back, but it won't budge. He feels terrible about what he did and wants to try to make things right."

The young amorphous creature breaks down in a sobbing mess, morphing into a water puddle as he cries. James and Jessie felt remorse for the creature, having lost so much in his young life. It's an all too familiar scene for James, having experienced a spirits flashbacks to depict how they died, and how it affected those they loved. Jessie knelt down to Shifty's level, patting on the surface of the puddle.

"Let it all out, Shifty." The to her surprise, Shifty morphed back to himself, giving her a squishy hug. In between sobs, Shifty spoke.

"It.. It all st-started when mom-momma died... She fell off a cliff, but they couldn't find her at the bottom anywhere, but her necklace.. She always wore it. Things got worse since... Time passed and uncle Fiddle's grew even more not right in the head... leaving me and daddy alone. That made daddy worse... he wasn't getting sleep and.. hurting himself to stay awake. A few days ago, he told me to stay here, because someone was coming over... he promised he would come back. I.. miss them so much.."

Hearing his story was making even Jessie teary-eyed, she wraps her arms around Shifty to return the hug. James turns to the small living area where Shifty slept on his small bed, a few books and toys scattered about, and photos within some picture frames. James asks Shifty, "Is it okay if I look at the pictures, Shifty." Having earn his trust, Shifty just nods as he clings to Jessie for comfort, not having seen people in awhile. Jessie was okay with this.

James examines the photos of a happier Ford and his assistants, the ones mentioned and illustrated by his uncle, getting a better view of them in color. He sees ones back from Halloween, Christmas, and other events. James smiles a little in bitter sweetness, settling the pictures back where they were, going back to his sister and Shifty.

Jessie spoke up, realizing how long they must have been gone, thinking of their own parents, "Shifty, we're gonna need to go back to the house."

Then James comes up with a good idea that could be pulled off, "Come with us, Shifty. We can't leave you down here all alone now, right?"

Shifty was taken by surprise, before he even formed more of a destitute frown, "I... I..." He thinks about it some. The only three people he knew in his life were gone, and these two kids come in and gave an ear to listen to him. He scurries to gather up his belongings and the photos, along with the remaining cans of beans, "I don't want to be alone anymore... Can you help me move my stuff?" He pleas to them.

James nods with all the yeses, giving Shifty a big hug on his squishy body, Jessie and him helping out in moving Shifty's stuff with them. The kids made sure to get their winter clothes before making their way back outside to feel the winter air hit them, the snow having fallen more since they left. Shifty shivered in the cold, but Jessie, out of kindness, gives him her parka to wear.

"Since I may catch a cold anyways." She wraps her arms herself, glancing at James. She's not gonna let that down anytime soon it seems.

"Thank you, Jessie." Shifty said in thanks, being grateful to have made new friends he can hopefully count on, and won't leave him. Before they entered inside, Shifty got an idea of his own, "Wait one second." He morphed into the form of a young boy around their age, looking very similar to their father when he was their age, having seen a picture of him as a kid before. "Now your folks won't freak out."

And their parents freaked out.


	2. A Moment to Breathe

_Meanwhile, in the basement..._

Stanley Pines worked down into the basement, reading every note about the Portal he could get his hands on his brother kept. He grumbled and cursed, not understanding a lot of what his twin babbled on about. He only had one of the Journals and the other two are somewhere in the whole stinkin' town. Carla came down the stairs, bringing him a cup of water and a sandwich to sate the hunger and thirst he must be feeling.

"Stan?" She gets his attention, wiping his brow with a sigh. He sees the beverage and food in her hands, thanking her.

"Thanks, Hotpants. Poindexter has really thrown me into a loop here." He eyes at the physics books and tools, his eyes growing heavier by the minute from sleep deprivation. He really has no clue what he's doing, "He's so much smarter than I am... while I'm a-"

"Don't you say it, Stanley Pines." Carla cuts him off, knowing exactly what he's going to say, and she won't stand by while he berates himself, "You have made plenty of mistakes, true, but your heart has always been in the right place; even Colombia, I knew you were trying to do it for me and the twins - along with greed. You have always been good to me and the children we made, and I couldn't ask for a better man than you." Her eyes turned to the portal, her expression turning to a smile in hope, "And what you're doing here is an incredible feat, but you can't do this alone. I, as well as the kids, will help you through this and get Ford's ass back here! You two are long over due to make amends." She looks to Stan with eye filled with love for him, lightly kissing his lips.

Stanley was taken back by what she said, he couldn't help but to set the drink and food aside to give her a big hug. He whispered in her ear, his voice full of emotion only her could hear, "You and the twins are the best things to happen to me... I don't deserve you all." He couldn't hold back the tears he usually hid from anyone else, only for Carla and his kids could he truly be himself, not the persona he displays to suckers.

Carla whispered back, "You deserve to be happy..." She lightly touched the back of his shoulder where the burn still stings him, "Let me check on that wound. Can't let it get infected from all the sweat, now." She got the water and medicine to apply to the burn, she can tell it was going to leave a permanent scar. She talks aloud, "If I were there, I would have made you two stop and clam your asses down, and give Ford a piece of my mind."

Stan couldn't help but to laugh a little from her comment, "You're one amazing woman. Did I ever tell ya that?" He grins to her.

Carla giggles, finishing up mending Stan's wound, replacing the old bandage with a fresh clean one, "Always, Stan." She hugs him from behind, his hands touching hers, "You really need to get some sleep. I'll see what I can do here in your place."

Stan rubbed his eyes, he couldn't deny it any longer, accepting that his wife is right, "Alright then... I really do need sleep. When I wake up, I'll get right back to work on this." He slowly got up from where he sat on the cold floor, helping up Carla from off the ground.

"Okay." She simply said. Then it hit her when realizes something important, "Oh yes, the kids. They're outside playing in the snow, but it seems they've been gone for awhile."

"We should call them inside; don't want either of them sick."

The couple walked back upstairs and to the front door of the house, when suddenly, they see the kids come back with nervous smiles on their faces, having something to hide. However, they quickly took notice the items - and extra kid - they have with them.

"Look what we found!" The twins spoke in unison. Stan and Carla didn't know how to react at first, but the coaxed the trio inside from the cold. The twins could see the questioning looks their parents were giving them, James and his sister do their best to explain.

"We can explain." Jessie spoke, rubbing her arms for warmth.

Knowing they can't lie to their parents, who have to lie for a living, telling them about the bunker and Shifty. Jessie reluctantly gave the daggers to her mother, her catching them in her daughter's deep pocket. Shifty sighs, giving back Jessie her parka and revealing his true, amorphous form, anticipating them to scream in fear. Stan and Carla freak out at the sight of young creature's intimidating, putting Shifty's guess to light. Carla letting out a brief scream. James and Jessie nervous smiles change to a frown in fear for their new friend.

"Holy Moses..." Stan rubs his head, the lack of sleep not helping him process all the information, "I'm gonna need to lie down for awhile. When I wake up, we're gonna need to talk more about this. Right now, I need sleep."

Carla pats Stan's shoulder, "I'll talk to them, honey." She gives Stan a kiss on the cheek, the man showing a smile before he goes to the couch and collapsing on top of it to sleep, snoring as he does. Carla takes a deep breath as she closed her eyes for a moment, turning her attention to the kids, "Okay, I can see you two are not joking about this. And sorry about the scream, Shifty... we're still getting used to all these strange things, Ford stored up in this house."

Shifty nods, seeing her point, "I can turn into something less scary if you want... I'm really good at it, but I can't change into large things yet." He morphs between a dog, butterfly, and then into the young boy he appeared as earlier, not feeling accepted.

Carla sees this saddening the boy, shaking her head and kneels down to Shifty's level, "You don't have to, dear. We want to get used to the real you, just need to be someone else in front of other people that aren't so. We're your family now and that's never going to change from here on out." She offers a motherly smile, being genuine. "Now about that hot chocolate; I haven't forgotten. Do you like hot coco, Shifty?"

Shifty nods, feeling better, "Oh yes! I'd love some hot chocolate, please. I can eat a lot of things, beans being my favorite, but I'm tired of eating beans for now. " The three kids and Carla made their way into the kitchen, Jessie giving James a high-six in success of Shifty getting accepted into their family by their parents. The young shapeshifter drinks his hot chocolate in one gulp when it cooled, not having had it in a good while.

Carla sits at the table with her twins and Shifty herself, needing a break, "So Shifty, would you know anything on how the portal works? And would anything from the bunker help us?"

Shifty thinks for a moment, he wasn't allowed into basement when Ford, Adeline and Fiddleford were working on the portal project for safety reasons. He shakes his head, "No, Daddy wrote everything about it in the journals. I wasn't allowed in the basement when they were working down there. Momma and Daddy would tell me about it some about their progress. I don't think stuff from the bunker would help either.. I'm sorry miss." He lowered his head.

Carla nods, understanding he doesn't know, "It's okay, Shifty. We're working with what we got to bring back your father. You can call me aunt Carla, dear." She looks at the Journal 3 in James' arms, carrying it with him like a favorite toy, "And thank you both for finding that Journal, it will really help with this. Now we just need the second one... But let your father and I worry about it. It'll turn up somehow."

James was reading through the journal as he drinks his hot coco, being careful not to get any stains on the pages, "This is really far out what uncle wrote and drew in here. He's even seen ghosts that appeared to him! Not all of them do that. Maybe when dad is not using the first journal, can I read it along with this one, mom?" He hands her the journal, knowing they're going to need it.

"I think that would be okay, I'll let your dad know. For now, you three can spend the rest of the day inside and play board games." She picks up the empty mugs, placing them in the sink to clean in a bit.

"I know of a good game we can all play." Jessie got up from her seat, excusing herself to head upstairs to the attic room where her and her twin have been sleeping in. James leads Shifty to follow Jessie to the room. There, Jessie picked out the game 'How to deal with Life: 80's edition' from the pile of board games that were found in the closet.


End file.
